- Date
- August 7, 1990, 11:30 local (18:30 UTC)
- Place
- Cougar, WA
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N351RMAerospatiale SA315B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 14, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900807030939A
- Case key
- 41121
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
Loss of power due to contamination in the engine speed governor.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The acft was hovering over trees at approx 200 ft. AGL, picking up a load of logs during a long line heli-logging operation, when the engine lost power. The acft desecended vertically and impacted the terrain. Disassembly and examination of the engine speed governor revealed particles of sealant material inside the governor assy.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N351RM
- Reported as
- Aerospatiale SA315B
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 2505
- Airframe hours
- 11,959
- Engine
- Turbomeca ARTOUSTE IIIB, 853 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Other work use · Part 133
- Operator
- Rocky Mountain Helicopters
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- AAIP · July 27, 1990 · 9 hours before
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 42
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 17,853 total · 7,698 in this make and model · 17,853 as pilot in command · 294 in the last 90 days · 78 in the last 30 days · 6 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 310° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 40 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 73 °F, dew point 57 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- PDX, 40 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N351RM · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.